May 30, 2011
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STILLWATER, Okla. - The Texas A&M men's golf team will look to claim its second national title in three seasons when the Aggies participate in the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. Action is scheduled for Tuesday through Sunday at Karsten Creek (par 72/7,416 yards) outside Stillwater, Oklahoma. A&M's tournament notes:
Teeing Off
A&M has finished fifth or better in every tournament this season, posting victories at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegate and the Aggie Invitational ... the Aggies have finished second in six other tournaments.
The Aggies have posted a win-loss record of 135-17 (.888) this year and a 89-8 (.918) mark this spring ... A&M's season stroke average of 286.3 would be a school record if the season ended today (287.61 by the 2009-10 team).
This year's trip to nationals is the Aggies' fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight years under head coach J.T. Higgins ... Texas A&M is one of only 8 teams nationally to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in each of the last four seasons, joining Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA and USC.
The streak of 4 straight NCAA Finals appearances is the second-longest in program history (11, 1977-87).
A&M is one of only 4 schools to post top-15 finishes in each of the last 3 seasons (USC, Oklahoma State, Washington).
Texas A&M Lineup
Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Avg. Rds. Par/- Top 10s Lo 18/54
Nacho Elvira 6-1 180 Sr. 72.1 31 16 5 66/207
John Hurley 6-4 200 Sr. 73.4 27 11 2 67/206
Cameron Peck 6-0 180 So. 72.5 36 16 3 63/207
Jordan Russell 6-0 175 Jr. 71.3 39 22 7 63/203
Conrad Shindler 5-8 205 Sr. 72.5 33 14 4 66/208
NCAA Championship Experience
All five members of Texas A&M's team have previously competed in the NCAA Championship ... only seniors Nacho Elvira (2008 and 2010) and Conrad Shindler (2009 and 2010) have been to more than one NCAA final.
Two Aggies--Shindler and senior John Hurley--were in the lineup for the 2009 National Championship team ... Hurley went 2-0-1 in match play, while Shindler went 1-2.
Shindler is making his third straight appearance in the NCAA Championship, a team high.
Format
The tournament will begin with 54 holes of stroke play (18 each day) ... following that, the top eight teams will advance to match play to determine the national champion ... the teams will be seeded 1 through 8 by order of finish in stroke play, and will face off in a bracket-style tournament with one round set for each day ... the championship match is scheduled for Sunday, June 5.
The Field (30 teams)
A 30-team field will compete for the championship ... five teams advanced from each of the six regional sites ... seeds for the NCAA Championship, as determined by the committee, are listed below:
1. Oklahoma State 11. Texas 21. Oklahoma
2. UCLA 12. Georgia 22. Arizona State
3. Alabama 13. Iowa 23. Ohio State
4. Georgia Tech 14. Duke 24. Tennessee
5. Florida 15. Michigan 25. Kent State
6. Augusta State 16. USC 26. Kennesaw State
7. San Diego State 17. Arkansas 27. Pepperdine
8. Texas A&M 18. California 28. Northwestern
9. Illinois 19. San Diego 29. Arizona
10. LSU 20. N.C. State 30. Colorado State
Individuals include Jason Millard (Middle Tennessee State), Jace Long (Missouri), Lee Bedford (Wake Forest), Geoff Gonzalez (Cal Poly), Sebastian Soderberg (Coastal Carolina) and Matt Hansen (UC Davis).
Pairings
Texas A&M will be paired with San Diego State and Illinois for Tuesday's first round ... the groups will begin teeing off from Hole No. 10 at 1:10 p.m. CDT.
Aggies in the NCAA Championship
Texas A&M is making its 27th trip to the NCAA finals ... this year marks the Aggies' 38th NCAA appearance overall.
A&M has earned a berth in the NCAA Championship in 4 straight seasons and 7 of the last 8 years overall.
The streak of 4 straight NCAA Finals appearances is the second-longest in program history (11, 1977-87).
Texas A&M is one of only 8 teams nationally to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in each of the last four seasons, joining Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA and USC.
A&M is one of only 4 schools to post top-15 finishes in each of the last 3 seasons (USC, Oklahoma State, Washington).
The Aggies won the national championship in 2009, the first title in program history ... A&M has 7 top-10 finishes all time, including a fifth-place showing in 1982 and fifth-place finish in 1961.
Karsten Creek (par 72/7,416 yards)
Karsten Creek opened in 1994 and sits just a few miles west of Stillwater, Oklahoma ... the course is consistenly rated one of the best in the country and was tabbed the best college course in the nation by Travel & Leisure Golf magazine.
For the championship, the course will play at 7,416 yards with a rating of 77.2 and a slope rating of 152.
A&M All-Time at Karsten
The Aggies will be making their fourth trip all-time to Karsten Creek, which opened in 1994.
A&M played the course this fall as part of the PING/Golfweek Preview, finishing fourth against a loaded field with a score of 887 (+23) ... senior Nacho Elvira and junior Jordan Russell were the Aggies' top finishers, tying for 16th (+7).
Texas A&M's other appearances at Karsten came at least a decade ago ... the Aggies finished 13th (894, +30) at the 2001 NCAA Central Regional and 7th at the 1996 Karsten Creek Collegiate (903, +39).
Head Coach J.T. Higgins
J.T. Higgins (Eastern Oregon State '89) is in his 10th season at the helm of the Texas A&M golf program ... Higgins has led the Aggies to nine straight NCAA tournaments and guided the program to its first national championship two seasons ago (2009).
Texas A&M golfers have earned eight All-America honors under his watch ... two are currently playing on the PGA Tour, Bobby Gates and Martin Piller.
AGGIE LINEUP: 2010-11 Review
Nacho Elvira (Sr., Santander, Spain)
An All-Big 12 honoree ... has appeared in 10 tournaments, finishing top-20 or better in 8 ... stroke average of 72.1 is second-best on squad and would rank fourth all-time on school charts ... recorded 5 top-10 finishes and 2 top-five showings ... 16 of 31 rounds were par or better, with a low of 66 ... 29 of 31 rounds (94 percent) counted towards team total ... turned in six sub-70 rounds ... shot a 3-over 216 at the NCAA Arizona Regional, good for 34th place ... posted 3 straight seventh-place showings entering NCAA play, coming at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (211, -2) outside Charleston, S.C.; the Aggie Invitational (217, +1) at Traditions Club in Bryan; and the Big 12 Championship (289, +9) at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan. ... top finish was a third-place showing among American collegians at the season-opening Topy Cup of Japan (220, +4) ... placed fifth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate (+3, 219) in February in California ... finished 16th at the PING/Golfweek Preview (223, +7) in September in Stillwater ... opened spring with a 17th-place showing at the Burns Intercollegiate in O'ahu (213, -3) ... went 2-1-1 at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship in March, defeating UCLA's Mario Clemens (2 and 1) and Georgia Tech's Kyle Scott (2 and 1) while halving a match against Pacific's Alex Edfort ... lone loss came to Illinois' Chris DeForest (1 up) on final hole ... missed team's final few fall tournaments while representing Spain at the 2010 World Amateur Team Championships, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina ... selected to the European team for the 2011 Palmer Cup, to be played this June in Connecticut ... earned a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award.
John Hurley (Sr., O'Neill, Neb.)
A first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection ... has appeared in 9 tournaments, posting a career-best stroke average of 73.4 ... recorded 4 top-20 finishes, 2 top-10 and 2 top-five ... 11 of 27 rounds were par or better, with a season-low of 67 ... 13 of 24 rounds counted towards team total ... one of three to top the field at the Burns Intercollegiate on O'ahu to open the spring ... carded a 10-under 206, the second-best 54-hole total by an Aggie this year ... lost on the second playoff hole ... finished fourth at the Aggie Invitational (216, E) in April at Traditions Club ... opened the year with a 13th-place showing among American collegians at the Topy Cup of Japan (220, +4) ... finished 16th at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate (224, +8) in February in California ... turned in an impressive 3-1 record at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship in March, with lone loss coming on final hole ... defeated Pacific's Dan Garcia (6 and 5), Illinois' Mason Jacobs (4 and 3) and UCLA's Alex Kim (3 and 2) ... earned a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award.
Cameron Peck (So., Olympia, Wash.)
One of two Aggies (Russell) to appear in all 12 tournaments ... stroke average of 72.5 is third-best on team ... has 6 top-20 and 3 top-10 finishes under his belt, including a season-best third-place showing at the NCAA Arizona Regional ... fired a 6-under 207, the second-lowest score by strokes at the event in school history ... also had a fourth-place showing at the Topy Cup of Japan (208, -8) ... 30 of 36 rounds (83 percent) have counted towards team total ... fired a school-record tying 63 (-9) in the final round of the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational in September outside Seattle ... finished in a tie for sixth at the tourney (213, -3), which was played just a few miles from his hometown ... placed 11th (290, +10) at most recent outing, the Big 12 Championship, at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan. ... tied for 12th at the Aggie Invitational (221, +5) at Traditions Club in April ... played 14th at the U.S. Collegiate Championship (216, E) in the fall outside Atlanta ... finished 21st at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate (225, +9) in February, 23rd at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (143, +1) in November, and 25th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (224, +8) in Las Vegas in March ... was 1-2-1 at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship in March ... defeated Pacific's Patrick Kucich (1 up) and halved UCLA's Connor Driscoll ... losses came on the final hole to Georgia Tech and the 17th hole to Illinois ... played in the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championships in August at Chambers Bay outside Seattle ... tied for 24th in stroke play with a 2-over 145 ... fell in first round of match play.
Jordan Russell (Jr., College Station, Texas)
An All-Big 12 honoree and a first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection ... has played in all 12 team tournaments and the prestigious Western Refining Collegiate All-American as an individual ... stroke average of 71.3 would rank best in school history if season ended today ... posted score of par or better in 22 of 39 rounds, two shy of the school record ... turned in 12 sub-70 rounds, including 3 of the 4 lowest this year ... 35 of 36 rounds (97 percent) counted towards team total ... finished in the top 20 in 9 of team's 12 tournaments ... finished in top 5 in 7 of 12 tourneys ... posted an even or below-par final stroke total in 7 of A&M's 12 tournaments ... matched best finish ever by an Aggie at the Big 12 Championship with a third-place showing (286, +6) at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. in April ... second-round 63 (-9) in season-opening Topy Cup of Japan set a school record ... was the top American finisher in the Topy Cup with a school-record tying 203 (-13) ... placed second at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (208, -8) in Las Vegas in March and at the Aggie Invitational (215, -1) at Traditions Club in April ... opening-round 64 at Southern Highlands was one shy of his school record, set earlier in the year ... finished third in back-to-back fall tourneys, at the U.S. Collegiate Championship (210, -6) outside Atlanta and the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (135, -7) in Dallas ... placed fourth at the Burns Intercollegiate (208, -8) on O'ahu to open the spring season ... two of losses at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championships in March (0-4 record) came on the final hole ... fired a 2-over 215 at the Western Refining All-American to place 23rd against a field that included 32 of the country's best collegiate golfers ... placed second at the Texas Amateur Championships over the summer with a 9-under 275 ... earned a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award.
Conrad Shindler (Sr., Coppell, Texas)
An All-Big 12 honoree and a second-team Academic All-Big 12 selection ... has played in 11 tournaments ... stroke average of 72.5 is career best and ranks third on team ... finished in top 20 in 7 of 11 tourneys ... also has 4 top-10 and 3 top-five finishes ... carded 14 par-or-better rounds ... 27 of 31 rounds (87 percent) counted towards team total ... turned in three straight finishes of fourth or better overlapping the winter break ... placed a career-high second at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (134, -8) in Dallas in November ... opened the spring with a fourth-place showing at the Burns Intercollegiate (208, -8) on O'ahu ... seventh-place finish (289, +9) at the Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes in April ... followed with a 1-over 217 and a third-place finish at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in late February in California ... placed 11th at the Aggie Invitational (220, +4) at Traditions Club in April ... finished 15th among American collegians at the season-opening Topy Cup of Japan (221, +5) in September ... also placed 15th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters (221, +5) in Las Vegas ... fired an 8-over 224 at the PING/Golfweek Preview in Stillwater in September, good for 21st place ... 3-over 216 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in late March was good for 24th place ... went a perfect 4-0 at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship in March ... defeated Pacific's Alex Johnson (3 and 2), Illinois' Scott Langley (3 and 2), UCLA's Gregor Main (1 up) and Georgia Tech's J.T. Griffin (5 and 4) ... played in the prestigious U.S. Amateur Championships in August outside Seattle ... tied for 13th in stroke play with a 1-over 144 ... fell in first round of match play ... earned a Texas A&M Athletics Scholar Award.
2010-11 Tourney-by-Tourney Lineups
Topy Cup of Japan Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
Husky Invitational Cochran Elvira Peck Russell Shaw
PING/Golfweek Preview Cochran Elvira Peck Russell Shindler
U.S. Collegiate Champ. Cochran Peck Russell Shaw Shindler
Royal Oaks Int'coll. Cochran Hurley Peck Russell Shaw
Burns Intercollegiate Cochran Elvira Peck Russell Shindler
Wyoming Desert Int'coll. Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
Southern Highlands Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
Hootie at Bulls Bay Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
Aggie Invitational Cochran Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
Big 12 Championship Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
NCAA Regional Elvira Hurley Peck Russell Shindler
